Eileen Mohan, whose son Chris was killed in the worst multiple-murder case in B.C. history, has called on the federal government for changes to what she sees as a revolving-door justice system, in which too many accused charged with gun offences and violent crimes are released on bail, returning to the streets to reoffend.

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Last November, accused gang member Bobby Sanghera was wearing body armour and was allegedly in “hunting mode” — on his way to kill a rival — when police pulled him over.

Sanghera, 31, was charged with weapons offences after police found a Ruger .45-calibre handgun, a Raven Arms semi-automatic and a .40-calibre pistol in his vehicle. He was also accused of removing a serial number from one of the guns.

Ten days later, Sanghera got bail over the objections of police.

Then last March, Sanghera’s father, alleged gang boss Udham Singh Sanghera, after being charged with a number of weapons offences, was denied bail along with a co-accused, alleged gang lieutenant Gordon Taylor.

Why was the son released on bail and the father denied bail? After all, they are allegedly part of the same gang charged with similar offences.

Unfortunately, routine bans on publication were imposed on the bail hearings of both the father and son to protect their rights to a fair trial, so the media cannot report the full reasons in either case.

But the lawyer for Udam Sanghera’s co-accused, Taylor, did not ask for a ban, so the judge’s comments can be reported with respect to his bail application.

“Taylor was arrested with a bag of four handguns and a large amount of ammunition,” Provincial Court Judge Jean Watchuk said in her reasons for denying bail. “The acquisition of multiple guns to be used against adversaries is an anathema to the Canadian tradition of a peaceful society.”

Acknowledging there was “a high level of concern [about] the almost daily events involving recent gun violence in our communities,” the judge decided to detain Taylor to maintain public confidence in the administration of justice.

“His criminal record and bail status at the time of the purchase of the guns and ammunition lead to the conclusion that he is not a candidate for release on further bail,” the judge concluded.

Criminologist Rob Gordon believes the recent public outcry about gangsters being released on bail has had an impact on the courts.

“Since January, public pressure and political pressure has come to bear on the judiciary, although they may deny it,” said Gordon, director of the school of criminology at Simon Fraser University.

“The last few months, they [judges] have been a lot more effective,” he said.

Prosecutor Teresa Mitchell-Banks, head of B.C.’s organized crime prosecution unit, said strict bail conditions are imposed when an accused is released on bail, but she added the Crown usually requests a suspect be held in custody in cases involving guns or gang violence.

Judges, she said, read the newspapers and understand the public's concern about the gang violence. "They live in your neighbourhood, too."

Vancouver police Insp. Mike Porteous, who headed the investigation that lead to Sanghera’s arrest, noted prosecutors were successful in getting nearly all of the 25 accused in that case held on bail, which could be due, in part, to judges listening to residents' concerns about the recent shootings.

"I frankly think the bench has an ear to the public," Porteous said.

Gordon said police have been even more frustrated than the public, pointing out that one gang member, Dennis Karbovanec, was released on bail on weapons charges and later survived an assassination attempt. After further death threats, police were forced to provide 24-hour protection outside Karbovanec’s Port Moody home.

“Police had to follow these guys around to keep them from getting popped, which is a terrible waste of resources,” Gordon said of Karbovanec and his associates. “I think it creates an atmosphere of cynicism.”

The 24-hour police protection of Karbovanec ended in April when he was arrested and charged with murder for his role in the Surrey Six slayings.

He immediately entered a surprise guilty plea to three murders, admitting he shot Chris Mohan, 22, an innocent passerby who lived next door, as well as drug dealers Michael Lal, 26, and Ryan Bartolomeo, 19, in a penthouse on the 15th floor of the Balmoral Tower highrise on Oct. 19, 2007.

Eileen Mohan, whose son Chris was killed in the worst multiple-murder case in B.C. history, has called on the federal government for changes to what she sees as a revolving-door justice system, in which too many accused charged with gun offences and violent crimes are released on bail, returning to the streets to reoffend.

“The people of B.C. are crying out for justice,” said Mohan, who continues to lobby politicians to get tough with gun and gang crime.

“Bullets are flying in Vancouver and Surrey and Abbotsford,” she said. “Public safety and security should be our top priority.”

What she’s learned since her son’s murder, she said, is that the courts too often respect the Charter rights of the gangsters without regard to the rights of society.

“What about my son’s right to life and liberty?” the mother asked. Our elected officials must unite to make changes to the Criminal Code to ensure public safety, rather than get bogged down in political infighting, she added.

According to a report commissioned by the provincial government, released last year, 74 per cent of British Columbians believe the courts are too lenient, slightly higher than any other region of Canada. The low was 62 per cent in the Atlantic region and the next highest after B.C. was 72 per cent in Quebec).

The report came after the government said in its throne speech last year: “British Columbians want to understand why sentences in their province tend to be shorter than in other provinces for such crimes as homicide, theft, property crimes, fraud, impaired driving and drug possession.”

The report by two criminologists — Anthony Doob of the University of Toronto and Cheryl Marie Webster of the University of Ottawa — said: “Such an authoritative statement by the government may arguably encourage — or at a minimum, reaffirm — the belief that sentences are generally too lenient in this province.”

The authors of the report pointed out that while crime rates are dropping, 31 per cent of British Columbians say the courts are doing a poor job, higher than any other region of Canada.

Part of the problem, the criminologists found, was that the media in B.C. tend to focus on unusual crimes and unusually lenient sentences, which tend to reinforce the notion the courts are “soft” on crime, rather than focus on the “ordinary, routine, unremarkable sentences.”

The study, after comparing sentences handed out across Canada, concluded: “B.C. does not stand out as being exceptionally lenient or exceptionally harsh in its sentencing practices.”

Still, the study pointed out that the law allows two judges using the same set of facts to come to “two very different outcomes” at sentencing. “Each of these sentences could be justified in terms of sentencing, even though one might be considerably more lenient than the other,” the report’s authors observed.

The report suggested changes could be made to make sentencing decisions more predictable and understandable.

In recent years, the federal government has introduced changes to try to address society’s growing concerns about gangs, gun crime and disparities in sentencing and granting bail.

When a gangster now enters court seeking bail, there are new “reverse onus” provision for certain firearms offences and repeat offenders, which puts the onus on the accused to prove why he should not be detained.

Criminal Code amendments that came into force last year place a reverse onus on an accused charged with using a firearm to commit a murder, attempted murder, armed robbery and sexual assault.

The reverse-onus provision also applies to: an offence committed while the accused was on bail; an offence involving organized crime; a terrorist offence; an offence involving threats, accusations, menace or violence for the benefit of a foreign entity or a terrorist group; a criminal act committed by an accused who is not a resident of Canada, and an accused involved in the trafficking, smuggling or manufacture of drugs.

Bail provisions have been part of Canadian law since 1869, when the federal government enacted legislation making bail discretionary for all offences. Every accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty, so it is generally assumed a person will be set free within 24 hours of arrest to await trial.

The vast majority of people charged with a crime in B.C. are freed on bail unless the Crown decides to oppose bail.

Section 515 (10) of the Criminal Code specifies the reasons a judge or judicial justice of the peace can deny bail: to ensure the accused’s attendance in court; for the protection or safety of the public, including victims or witnesses to the offence; and to maintain confidence in the administration of justice, having regard to all the circumstances, including the apparent strength of the prosecution’s case, the gravity of the offence, the circumstances surrounding its commission and the potential for a lengthy prison term.

“Prosecutors treat any file involving firearms or violence seriously,” said Neil MacKenzie, a prosecutor who speaks for the Criminal Justice Branch, part of the attorney-general’s ministry that oversees criminal prosecutions in B.C.

McKenzie said prosecutors routinely oppose bail for gangsters, but no statistics are kept on the success rate of the Crown.

“We’re obviously aware these cases cause public concern,” he said.

He pointed out the federal government has proposed legislation, not yet passed, that would make any gang-related murder a first-degree murder, which carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole for 25 years.

“Sentencing is always very difficult in a case,” MacKenzie said of the process, in which the Crown recommends an appropriate sentence for an accused, taking into account the seriousness of the offence, the background and criminal record of an accused and such mitigating factors as the offender entering an early guilty plea, saving the public the cost of a lengthy and expensive trial.

He said case law also has to be considered: precedents set by the trial courts, the B.C. Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada, which limit a trial judge’s discretion at sentencing.

Such case law affects the sentencing, for example, of an accused charged with a home break-in, which carries a maximum life sentence under the Criminal Code, but usually results in no jail time for a first offence.

The Conservative government also has introduced legislation to limit the controversial two-for-one credit criminal offenders receive for time served in pretrial custody before their trial.

Over the years, the “double credit” policy was developed by judges at the time of sentencing to compensate offenders for “dead time” while awaiting trial in overcrowded remand centres that lack rehabilitation programs.

But federal Justice Minister Rob Nicholson said the policy has been abused by some offenders who delay trials and sentencing to get double credit for pretrial custody, thereby reducing their sentences.

The new Criminal Code amendments stipulate that the general rule should be one day credit for each day served in pretrial custody and, if circumstances justify it, a credit of 1.5 for each day.

Gordon said of the proposed changes: “What they’re trying to do is make life easier for the courts to decide these cases.”

nhall@vancouversun.com, with files from Lori Culbert

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